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Meet Sarah Unger of CIVIC in West Hollywood

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Unger.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have always enjoyed being at the intersection of things: why pick one field when you can weave together learnings from all of them? In college at the University of Virginia, I took a Psychology major, a History major and wove them in with Advertising/Marketing.

After growing up as a creative and strategic planner on the agency side, I developed a few specialties, including helping companies connect with Millennial/Gen Z audiences around the world. That door opened up a lot of opportunities for me, including public speaking, becoming Forbes 30 Under 30, and ultimately transitioning into the field of entertainment, which had long been a personal passion of mine. I worked in-house as a strategist at Viacom across their portfolio of iconic brands including Paramount Pictures, MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon and was able to round out my experience on the business side, working with each brand’s executives to navigate the disruptions within the media space. It was exciting and challenging, being in a tower in Times Square working on content that reaches so many people worldwide.

Through that work, I met an incredible woman named Linda Ong, who had long served as a secret weapon for many top entertainment clients, including those at Viacom. She is a pioneer in the field of cultural insights – a specialized but influential blend of anthropology and brand strategy. I immediately knew I was meant to work with her in this discipline. I moved to Los Angeles last year and currently work across entertainment, tech, start-ups, and other fields that recognize the value of cultural relevance in a fast-changing world.

In the meantime, I’m loving California and now have a whole new home base to explore the world from, with a brand new set of adventures in my backyard.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve been very fortunate to land opportunities that allowed me to get progressively closer to my passions, as well as have valuable mentors along the journey in the form of wonderful bosses and sage advisors, including my father who has given me countless hours of spontaneous gut checks. I pay it forward with volunteer advisory work (I serve on the board of trustees for my high school alma mater, Hackley) to return some of this good karma I’ve been gifted, and hopefully leave a meaningful mark on the world.

But smooth road? Certainly not…and I’d be worried if it was! Each obstacle and diversion led to a new learning and opportunity that allowed me to reflect, grow, and diversify my toolbox. I knew I wanted to move out west and be closer to the coast and natural elements ever since I was a child, given my love for outdoor activities, but it took me a long and windy path to get there. I also had to learn about myself through my 20s and how I work best: what was worth my energy, what wasn’t, and how not to burn out in the process.

One of my bosses once told me I was like Jane Goodall (which is a compliment I’ll forever work towards) – dropping in on cultures, opening myself up to them, learning them, and uncovering meaningful insights that drive progress. Obstacles can still be exciting for a neophile like me, even if, at the moment, it can feel counterintuitive. But that’s the meditation, right? Seeing the bigger picture when you’re still grounded in the present.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about CIVIC – what should we know?
We often use this analogy to explain cultural insights: our clients build the rocket ship, and we read the atmosphere, providing the “why” behind cultural shifts. We do this through curating conversations to locate where our client’s show, film, brand, product, or person sits in culture. Academics traditionally call this the study of semiotics – reading signs and signals in culture. Some may call this trendspotting. But we’re doing much more than that: we’re tailoring a sharp, current view of culture to drive brand, business and audience goals.

Rather than setting up focus groups or sending out surveys, we’re cultural analysts who binge TV shows, read new books, scout design events, or speak with field experts like doctors or psychologists to discover what breakthroughs are on their horizon. We’re in a world that’s information-rich, but insight-poor. Good analysts have to be able to sense things: it’s not a discipline devoid of intuition. We’re culture whisperers.

Our client base extends across companies like Apple, YouTube, Disney/ABC, WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal, and Viacom. Our cultural insights and strategy team is part of CIVIC Entertainment Group, with offices in NY and LA – an agency whose focus is building bridges between brands and communities, often through large-scale experiential activations.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My life is still growing, and as it does, how I characterize success changes as well. But so far, it’s been an innate curiosity that comes from my core. I love asking questions, and through this journey for knowledge I learn, form connections that might not be readily apparent, and then crystallize the knowledge to share and inspire others. This lends itself to a certain degree of opportunistic open-mindedness. If you were to ask friends or colleagues, they might give you a different answer, more related to my demeanor. I have been told that it’s an ability to express warmth and put others at ease – even when introducing esoteric or emergent concepts. Over the course of my career, I’ve learned to stay calm and ride the wave of almost any scenario while remaining optimistic and excited. Prioritizing wellness – across mind, body, and spirit – also helps me be the best Sarah Jane I can be.

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